“How can a good God who loves me allow me to feel so depressed and despairing? Why would He allow me to experience such terrible pain and suffering?

A Lay of the Land

Over that last few of months, we’ve been tackling this knotty question. We started by getting to the root of the question by challenging the faulty assumption that God’s love exempts me from pain and suffering. Then we laid out how the problem of pain gets personal but that there are some really good reasons to doubt our doubts about God’s goodness. We called these reasons theodicies and the argument of God’s inscrutability. Today, we are going to look at our second theodicy.

Theodicy #1: Pain is a megaphone in that it leads us back to our need for God.

Theodicy #2: Suffering is soul-building.

Catch up on the other Blogs in this Series Here:
#1: Knowing Why Won’t Make You Feel Better
#2: When the Problem of Evil Gets Personal
#3: Pain is a Megaphone

Sanctified Suffering is a Soul-building Experience

What we mean by this is that suffering is used by God as a dynamic means of building our character to be like that of Jesus Christ and proves that our faith is tried, tested, and true.

Defining “Good” Rightly

This theodicy argues that God allows for evil, pain, and suffering because the sanctified experience of these things transforms us in some positive way toward the sort of character that pleases Him and is good for us. This is the basic teaching of Rom. 8:28-29 which says, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren…” God is working for our good. The pathway to that good is not itself good, but the outcome is good. It doesn’t feel good. We may not even perceive it as good. But the good that God is working towards is that we be “conformed to the image of His Son” who also walked the path of suffering. Part of our responsibility is to learn to evaluate what is “good” on God’s terms instead of our own.

Sometimes God permits pain and suffering as a means of discipline so that we will learn holiness. Sometimes God permits pain and suffering so that our faith might be tested and shown to be true. Sometimes God permits pain and suffering so that we might learn endurance and have a deeper faith. Sometimes God permits pain and suffering so that we will long for glory and consider its value against what we now experience. All this and more comes as part of God’s activity to build our souls to be like Christ through the experience of suffering and difficulty.

A Hard but Biblical Truth

Consider these passages and how they speak to this truth:

…and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, Nor faint when you are reproved by Him; For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. —Hebrews 12:5–11

And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. —Romans 5:3–5

For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison… —2 Corinthians 4:17

Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. —James 1:2–4

In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ… —1 Peter 1:6–7